Scott Spain owns Quatra S, an Austin-based company behind a U.S.-patented polymer used to grab oil from surfaces.

He’s offering his company’s material as a solution to the Gulf oil spill.

Spain said a few minutes after sprinkling the powder-like material onto oil, the polymer mixes with it to become a rubbery solid that can be peeled up from the surface.

That, in turn, can be converted into an alternative fuel source that can be recovered and used.

The powder is EPA-approved for use, according to the company'swebsite.

Spain said he’s been calling BP and government agencies to help with relief efforts since a few weeks after the explosion, but he continues to get the run around.

“All I want is the opportunity to give a demonstration," Spain said.

He has half a million pounds of the powder in a Houston warehouse ready for use.